Hanbusa Itchō - Blind monks examining an elephant [1888]

The Incredible String Band - The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion [1967 - Ireland]

I mixed stones in water just to see what it would do

and the water it got stoney and the stones got watered too.

So I mixed my feet with water just to see what could be seen

and the water it got dirty and the feet they got quite clean.

- From my favorite tune on this album "No Sleep Blues".

If you're like me, and not the biggest follower of psychedelic folk music, I hope you surprise your tastes with this one. I was immediatly impressed by these guys' incredibly skillful playing ability and complex arrangements in the recordings. I also really dig the bluegrass edge and drunken Irish vocals.

Enjoy

Shel Silverstein - Invention [1974]

I've done it, I've done it!

Guess what I've done!

Invented a light that plugs into the sun.

The sun is bright enough,

The bulb is strong enough,

But, oh, there's only one thing wrong...

The cord ain't long enough!

El Congreso [1971 - Chile]

I love finding new Chilean music, especially nueva canción. Thanks again to Hippy-DJkit for posting this. This is one of those albums I was immediatley blown away by the second I popped it in my stereo. True to nueva canción, El congreso fuses ethnic Chilean music with electric western styles, utilizing both cultures' instruments. Among them, my favorite is the zampoña (pan flutes). One thing I noticed about this album, is that it's the only nueva canción group I've heard that switch between playing the zampoña in an Andean and western jazz style, whereas other groups tend to stick to playing them just in the traditional Andean way. Their mastery of both culture's instruments allow them to seamlessly maneuver from the spiritual sounds of their people to funky flavors of today. The opening track is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I hope you like it!

Enjoy